First and foremost, be sure that you're aware of the 6 month requirement with regards to passport validity. We didn't find out until the minute my fiance (now my wife) was denied access for not having enough validity left on her passport from the time of our initial departure. So we ended up losing 5 days of our original plans and the possibility of NOT getting married was very real (at that time). Our original plans had included 5 nights in Sanur at Sri Phala, 5 nights in Ubud at Ketut's Place, and 5 nights in Seseh at Tamu Seseh Villa where our marriage ceremony took place. In the end, we had to eliminate our stay in Ubud. So, we were only able to stay at Sri Phala and Tamu Seseh. Both places proved to be incredible with regards to accomodations and service....more on that later. We flew out of LAX in California on EVA airlines. I have to give a special thanks to Josephine and Tahitia that work at the EVA counter in LAX. They were incredible with assisting us in getting our flights re-arranged and assigning us good seat for my big self. Overall, EVA was a good experience. Food was good and decent selection of inflight entertainment. We flew into Taipae after a 14 hour long flight. I have a Diner's Club card. So, we were able to use the EVA lounge ($16 for a guest who is traveling with you that doesn't have their own card...in this case my wife). Very refreshing to be able to take a hot shower and change. The lounge has highspeed internet, Xbox gaming lounge, hot buffet, coffee, cocktails, drinks, and reading to hold you over for your connecting flight. All in all, I'm glad we had the lounge available to us for our 2 hour layover as we were able refresh, eat, and shoot some emails off to family and friends who were back home thinking we're crazy for traveling to such a "dangerous" part of the world......guess these people forgot that I departed from Los Angeles........lol.
After the 4 hour flight from Taipaie, we finally arrived in Bali. We befriended a 73 year old lady that was traveling by herself to Bali to visit her daughter. So even though we were prepared with our VOA money, passports, and such.....we decided it would be best to see that she arrived safely with her waiting daughter. She seemed very intimidated of having to travel all alone so we thought of our own mothers and grandmothers and decided we should stay with her. Even so, immigration and the VOA formalities were swift. We spent maybe 30 minutes at most in the airport after arrival and that was only because we were assisting the older lady through as well. We collected our bags and breezed right through customs who didn't even look at or in our bags. We decided to change a bit of money at the airport just to get us started. Exchange rate at that time (June 17, 2004) in the airport was 9,150 rph to $1USD. So after changing money, out the door to see Jenny off safely. After all that bad "juju" we experienced to that point, we were very happy for her to bless us in some Indonesian fashion for our upcoming wedding. I have to say, I think her blessing started to take affect and swing things in our favor. We were able to secure a taxi from the taxi window at the airport for a fix rate for regions served. I think we paid about 20,000 rph to drive us to Sri Phala in Sanur. I had quite a laugh as I was telling my fiance to sit in front with the driver. The problem was, she was trying to get in on the driver's side of the car....we sit on the left to drive over here. The driver got a big laugh out of that too. Initially, the climate didn't seem that different from a hot day here in San Diego. It was a bit more humid...but really not that much difference. The swarms of motorbikes was my first impression of Bali. I can't believe how many there are and from all directions it seems. I learned in the short drive from the airport to Sri Phala, I would NEVER be renting a car or motorbike to drive myself around and I'm one of the "crazy" southern California drivers out here. Bali takes the cake when it comes to wild driving. Our taxi driver never heard of Sri Phala so we were a bit concerned that we may have been taken by an internet site. It just so happened however, that Sri Phala ended up being 30 paces from the place we stopped to ask directions.....things were looking good again. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an entourage of staff and their security guy. They carried all our bags into the reception area and just as we were admiring one of the villas....we found out it was ours!! We were brought a refreshment drink in a fancy baby pineapple, signed a few papers, assigned our lockbox and headed off to our villa. Ahhhh! paradise for sure....Sri Phala is a quiet tropical haven just off the bustling streets of Sanur. I was a bit worried at first because I thought for sure we would hear all the street noise. However, the whole resort is enclosed by walls that are at least 5 meters high. Inside, there are lush tropical plants, windng pathways, fountains, and small ponds. Our villa number was 305. However, there certainly isn't that many units there. Sri Phala is a small, quaint, and very quiet place. Our villa was amazing. Private plunge pool, big front porche, big bed with mosquito netting, in room refridgerator, television, remote control air conditioning, big bathroom with western toilets and two showers and one bath.....all that is just the downstairs! Upstairs there were two twin beds, tv, remote control airconditioner, and an outside balcony porch. Everything was emaculately clean, furnishings were incredible with all the teak wood and white linen. The pillows were a bit harder than we're used to. But, who cares....no time for sleep....we were finally in Bali!!!! More to come.....
Picture link if you haven't seen them yet.....
http://community.webshots.com/user/pandesol